Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester (c.1208-65)

Born in Normandy, Simon de Montfort went to England in 1229. He married King Henry III's sister Eleanor in 1238 and was invested as Earl of Leicester in 1239. In 1240 he went on crusade. After his return in 1242 he became governer of Gascony and fought succesfully against the revolting vassals. In the English barons' war Simon was the leader of the reform party. In 1264, he won the Battle of Lewes against the king thus becoming quasi-ruler of the realm. A year later he was slain at the Battle of Evesham by the king's forces. His body was decapitated and dismembered. His testicles were hung on either side of his nose. The monks of Evesham, however, rescued and buried his body and soon his tomb became a place of veneration and cult.

Simon de Montfort's seal

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